I was already convinced that the McCain campaign is committed to running the most negative and divisive presidential campaign in American history, but hearing that the McCain camp had prepared two separate scripts, one criticizing Obama if he went to the Landstuhl military hospital and one if he didn't, being able to essentially nail Obama either way, is proof positive that McCain and his crew has decided to say and will say anything to get elected.

I am so anxious to see a face-to-face debate between the two candidates. Yes, Obama slips up from time to time, but his gaffes are relatively minor and certainly not meant to be deliberate attacks against McCain or of a malicious nature. But McCain doesn't seem to speak for his own campaign. He seems to sit back, allow his henchmen to do the dirty work, and then flash his smarmy smile, say a lot of "my friends," and try to appear to stay above the fray.

I can only imagine the future debate that Obama and McCain will eventually have. Brian Williams asks John McCain "Senator McCain, do you now stand behind your attacks against Senator Obama where you have said that Senator Obama is not a patriot, has no significant experience and doesn't have a clue what's going on in Iraq and Afghanistan?"

"Well, Brian, I frankly don't know where you got that quote. I have never said such cruel things, and to the best of my knowledge, no one on my behalf has said such things, either. But I would like to say that Senator Obama is quite naive and doesn't understand what's going on in the Middle East. Now I don't question the senator's patriotism, but Barack Hussein Obama -- er, Senator Obama is well-meaning, but he should leave the war strategy to those of us who wore the uniform."

Tom Brokaw turns to Barack and says, "Senator Obama, I will start with you first, but I will ask the same question of Senator McCain. What do you plan to do in your first ten days if you should become President Obama?"

"Tom, as I've said before, this country is in need of dramatic change. In my first ten days, I will gather my team together and we will immediately assess what issues need to be tackled in terms of their severity and importance. I will also meet immediately with my close military advisors and the Joint Chiefs and begin the process of removing troops from Iraq and rotating many of them into Afghanistan. Beyond that, my administration will be one of immediacy, quick and decisive action and determining how we can make the quickest impact to this country."

"Senator McCain."

"What was the question, Tom?"

"What do you plan to do in your first ten days if you should become President McCain?"

"Tom, if I should become the president, I would call on my many years of experience, both in the US Senate and before that wearing the uniform of this country. This gives me the wisdom and background to be an effective leader. I will make sure to meet with my newly appointed Iraq and Afghanistan war czars respectively. Senator Obama is not equipped to run our country, nor does he carry the inherent expience to understand the needs of the American people."

"Senator McCain," interrupts Brian Williams," please stick to the question."

"What was the question?"

"What would you do in the first ten days of holding office?"

"Oh, didn't I answer that? Well, I have a lot of things to do. Being president is a large job, and I'm ready to take it on. I have been preparing for it my entire life. Senator Obama has had very little time in the Senate, and he is a gifted speaker. There's no question about that, but words are just not enough. I have been to Iraq almost twenty times. I know better than anyone what is good for them, and he went there once and couldn't even take any time to speak to the troops. What kind of leader is he? He's one that doesn't know what the troops really want."

I do have a fertile mind, but you get my drift. Let the games begin.

Label Obama However You Want

If you haven't noticed lately, John McCain and his mouthpieces have been labeling Barack Obama as arrogant, elitist, presumptuous, etc. You've heard it, and you must be getting as frustrated and irritated as I am. When McCain was calling Obama inexperienced, lacking foreign policy exposure or claiming he missed key votes, I could live with that. These attacks have now crossed the line and gotten out of hand, but I do have an idea.

McCain reminds me of a senior citizen in the neighborhood who, upon seeing the young upstarts moving in all around him, chooses to name-call, label them as yuppies, wet behind the ears or ignorant liberals instead of getting to know them. He is threatened by the changing environment around him, but instead of observing the new neighbors with curiousity, maybe going about his business and quietly sticking to what he knows and feels comfortable with, he lashes out, screaming hurtful slurs out the window and earning a reputation as the cranky old man who's lost his mind.

Welcome to the McCain campaign. That describes what John McCain is doing and why. But the key is how to combat that behavior without allowing McCain to garner sympathy from his cronies and tepid supporters, many of whom are supporting him because they feel they have no choice, but will rally around their candidate if he's being counter-attacked by Barack Obama. I actually think that I've come up with a solution to these attacks and unfair labels that will stick if not countered immediately.

Barack needs to adopt the labels in this way. When a reporter -- and you know one will -- asks Barack if he feels that he is arrogant, he responds, "If recognizing that the American people are struggling to pay for overpriced gasoline, pay their health insurance premiums and pay off their student loans and still put food on the table makes me arrogant, guilty as charged!" Or he could say, "If taking advantage of an opportunity to bolster my foreign policy by meeting with critical world leaders and drawing large crowds who recognize that the change that this country needs will also rekindle their affinity with the United States and restore our stature in the world makes me a presumptuous person, so be it."

Barack Obama must meet McCain's constant attacks with some lighthearted humor and at the same time point out that the mean-spirited and baseless references that are now part of everyday campaigning and advertising of the McCain campaign don't bother him at all. Remember when Ross Perot was accused of being inexperienced, and in a debate pointed out that if running up huge deficits, driving people out of work and whatever else he was accusing George H.W. Bush of, then yes, he doesn't possess that experience. It was very effective, although the rest of his campaign did not take off.

Barack Obama is the real deal, the entire package, but at this moment McCain is attempting to label him, and without the proper counter measures being employed immediately, these labels will stick to him like glue. He will just be known as a tax and spend, inexperienced flip-flopper, and that is obviously so untrue.

But if Barack uses the words of John McCain to point out that these labels are irrelevant to him, but that the false accusations that come along with them will not be tolerated for a moment, that the words used to describe who Obama is are just the opposite of reality and that he doesn't care what he's called as long as people recognize that he's being called names because they're threatened by the change that he's promising, then this will give Barack the opportunity to run through his plans for this country if he is fortunate enough to be elected president.

So when some pundit points out that Obama is fussy, finicky or feels that he is somehow annointed by God to save the world, Barack should just say, "Yes, you know, I am fussy. I just won't sit around and watch millions lose their homes, watch oil companies continue to rape the American driver, and I will not continue with the status quo that is being offered by John McCain. It is time for major change. Yes, I am fussy!"

Barack Obama a Great Friend to Israel

I have been perplexed in the past months that Barack Obama is perceived by so many as being an enemy of Israel, even though just a quick search on the internet or a brief look into his past tells the complete opposite.

I read a spectacular letter today written by someone who was lucky enough to see Barack speak recently at a synagogue in Florida, and here it is. It is eloquently written and speaks volumes to anyone who will just open his/her mind and hear what it says.

May 23, 2008>> Mr. Obama Goes To Shul>> BOCA RATON , FLORIDA * Senator Barack Obama came to Temple B'nai > Torah this afternoon. As will often happen with candidates out on > the campaign trail, his arrival was delayed by several hours. And > although he apologized for being tardy and making us wait, he never > did mention the reason for his delay. As I found out later that > night, he had hopped up to Capitol Hill in order to vote in favor of > a measure which greatly expands the G.I. Bill. He could have taken > the high, self-serving road and told those assembled why he was > late. He could also have taken the low, "finger-pointing" road and > flailed Senator McCain for being one of 22 Republicans voting > against our men and women in uniform.>>

Instead, he did neither.>> This was not his reason for going to shul.>> Rather, he was here, in the midst of approximately 750 mostly- > Jewish men, women and teens, to talk about himself, Israel , and > anti-Semitism, and to address head-on the virtual St. Vitus' dance > of fear that has been such a noxious staple of cyberspace this past > year>> I managed to snag a VIP pass and, guiltily walking past the long > line of folks standing out in the rain, was seated about 6 feet away > from the senator. Sitting with me were -- somewhat surprisingly -- > at least thee lions of the Republican Party and a couple of die-hard > Clinton acolytes.

They, like so many in the assembled minyan, were > not there because they already supported Senator Obama. Rather, they > had come to find out for themselves just who the "skinny guy with > the strange-sounding name" is, and whether or not he will be as bad > for Israel as so many have claimed.>> Senator Obama certainly had his work cut out for himself.>> To make the senator's task even more challenging, just the day > before he attended shul, the New York Times ran a story entitled > "Many Florida Jews Express Doubts On Obama." In the article, staff > writer Jodi Kantor quoted a handful of South Florida Jews who were > dismissive -- if not downright hostile -- to Senator Obama's > candidacy.

One elderly woman said she would never vote for Obama > "because of his attitude on Israel ." A second averred that Obama > "is part of Chicago 's large Palestinian community." A third > worried that if he were elected, Obama "might fill his > administration with followers of Louis Farrakhan." And yet a fourth > opined, "His father was a Muslim and you can't take that out of him.">>

No one ever said running for president was easy; especially when > you're a guy named Barack Obama, and you're speaking in a synagogue > before more Jews than the rabbi has seen since last Rosh Hashana.>> With a mesmerizing mix of eloquence and erudition, articulation > and affability, the Senator won over the vast majority of the > assembled minyan. During the more than two hours he spent speaking > and dialoguing, Senator Obama made it abundantly clear that he was, > is, and always shall be, a staunch defender of the Jewish State. > [One should know a fact: after going over the voting records of both > Senator Clinton and Obama vis-a-vis issues pertaining to Israel, > AIPAC -- the main Israel support lobby in the U.S. gave both a 100% > rating. That's 100% of the time that both senators voted in a > manner that was favorable to the Jewish State.]>>

Senator Obama told of how, as a youngster attending summer camp, > he had a Jewish counselor who told him about Zionism:>> "I really connected with it, because in Zionism, there is this > sense of rootedness, of having a place and a home. And for a kid > with my unusual background . . . and not knowing precisely where I > fit, this struck a tremendous chord.">> When asked about his relationship with a Palestinian professor > from the University of Chicago , the Senator said:>> "Yes, I have met the man, but why do people automatically > conclude that therefore I must be in agreement with what he > espouses? People do have the ability to listen to those with whom > they disagree. How can one ever make any progress if the only folks > they talk to are those with whom they are in agreement?">>

Obama went on to say:>> "I don't want to get in to the 'some of my best friends are > Jewish' trap, because it's terribly demeaning. But I will tell you > this: when I first ran [unsuccessfully] for Congress against Bobby > Rush, the main argument against me was that I was too close to the > Jewish community! I have always believed that Jewish and African > Americans have an historic bond, an historic memory. I mourn the > passing of the time when Jewish Americans and African Americans > worked together in harmony to bring about change. If it weren't for > the Jewish community and their central role in the Civil Rights > struggle, I wouldn't be here today, running for President of the > United States .">>

Addressing all the emails that are going around [indeed, I just > received one entitled "The Fifty Lies of Barack Obama"], he made a > telling point with a fine degree of humor:>> "You know, no one believes those emails that start out: 'I'm a > Nigerian who has $5 million in the bank but can't get at it . . . > however if you'll only send me a thousand dollars . . .' Or all > those medicines that promise to help expand your . . . well, let's > not go there . . . [laughter] . . . But seriously, why then do > people believe scurrilous rumors? Promising millions for nothing or > potency for pennies has about as much reality as proclaiming that I > am a Jihadist.">>

Many in the crowd were of the opinion that "George W. Bush is the > best friend Israel has ever had." I hear this from my students more > often than is comfortable. Senator Obama addressed this in words of > stark simplicity:>> "In the past seven years, Iran has become infinitely more > powerful than ever before. It has given tremendous financial support > to the major enemies of Israel . This has all happened under the > Bush-Cheney-McCain watch. How can anyone conclude that the one who > empowers your worst enemy is your best friend? It doesn't make any > sense.">> One person in the crowd asked why, in saying he would convene a > summit meeting of all Arab countries, he excluded Israel , Obama > smiled and answered:>> "Well first, Israel isn't an Arab country; its a Jewish State. > Secondly, they are our strongest ally . . . our best friend in the > region. The countries we would be talking to are the ones we want > to convince that someday, somehow, they're going to have to learn > how to live in peace with Israel . If you only talk to your > friends, there is absolutely no chance that you're ever going to be > able to change your enemies. That is part of the definition of > courage">>

By way of example, Senator Obama mentioned how, when speaking > before students at a school of Ramallah , he told them, "One day you > are going to have to learn to live in peace with Israel.">> Did Senator Obama's "performance" make supporters out of everyone > in attendance? Probably not, for he is, as we say in Hebrew, raq > basar va'dahm ["merely flesh and blood"]. Nonetheless, I believe he > quelled the fear and uncertainty in many hearts.>>

There no doubt will always be those who choose to believe the > worst about Senator Obama -- or anyone in the public eye for that > matter. There will also always be those who seek to hide incipient > racism beneath the veneer of inept rhetoric. And believe me, I am > fully expecting people to write and tell me that I have had the wool > pulled over my eyes -- that Senator Obama is a Muslim, ant- > Semitic . . . the whole nine yards.>> And yet, for at least one afternoon, in one shul, the minyan had > the opportunity to listen to -- and share with -- a man who reminded > us that the Arabic barack and the Hebrew baruch share the same > meaning: "Blessed.">>

It was a "sermon" well worth the wait.>> Oh yes: by the end, even the three Republicans were on their feet.>> And don't worry about being late Senator. You see, ever since > Sinai, we've been on Jewish Standard Time .>>

�2008 Kurt F. Ston>> Kurt Stone is a rabbi, writer, lecturer, political activist, > professor, actor, and medical ethicist. Educated at the University > of California , the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers > University and the Hebrew Union College , Stone holds a B.A. in > American Political History, a Master of Hebrew Letters, and a Doctor > of Divinity. A resident of South Florida for more than 25 years, he > is currently spiritual leader of the North Broward Havurah in Coral > Springs .

Formula to Defeat the Man of Teflon

I am convinced that John McCain is coated in teflon. How else do we explain the soft treatment that he receives from the press? His consistent gaffes and constant demonstrations of gross misunderstanding of national and international affairs would have spawned a new network by now if his name was Barack Obama, or just about any Democrat for that matter.

Instead, McCain on a daily basis misquotes facts and statistics, If you're a betting man or woman, put your money on at least one large misstatement per day. His handlers, many from the Bush/Cheney regime and dozens of professional lobbyists, must all be pretty much bald by now from pulling their hair out of their heads. If I were a supporter of McCain, I think I'd watch him with one hand over my eyes and the other attempting to keep my ears covered as much as I could.

There are so many articles written about this issue, and this one is as good as any .http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/opinion/26herbert.html?ex=1217736000&en=d5d49dd878b1adb0&ei=5070&emc=eta1.

But the mainstream corporate media takes a hands-off approach. Last night on Larry King and on numerous other broadcasts, McCain listens to the questions and provides his pre-prepared messages without challenge. It is a rare occasion that his provocative attacks of Obama or his outright mistakes are even mentioned when he makes them. There are still some news people that have the ability to know what actual reality is, but they either choose to simply allow McCain to get his canned message out or they have been told to leave the man alone.

Barack Obama has no such restriction. It is time to peel the teflon coating off of John McCain. The McCain supporters and surrogates will attempt to reapply a brand new coat, temporarily protecting McCain from a good public scouring, but he must once and for all be finally scrubbed clean.

Let's face facts. McCain has learned very quickly. His attacks on Obama stick. The lies that he's very good at spouting out, no matter how meritless and despite a pledge not to run a campaign this way, have scored points on his opponent. The only way to combat these mean-spirited and unfounded attacks is to counter-punch, but in an intelligent and specific manner.

Just like Hillary Clinton, whose supporters cried foul when Obama even looked at her funny, McCain spokespeople are just ready to scream if their man is somehow characterized in any way but as a caring elder statesman whose long service to this country allows him to be given a pass no matter how severely he screws up or demonstrates his ignorance on a whole host of issues.

No, this is a tough nut to crack, but it must be done. And quickly! The American public, particularly the younger sectors, are tiring of this topic. And why shouldn't they at this point? It seems like it's been going on for two years now. Oh, it has? It is imperative that Barack stir the pot and in a very subtle but pointed way bring up issues where McCain is vulnerable. In other words, McCain must be pressed every day until the Republican National Convention with questions that are put forward by either Obama or one of his spokespeople.

It is time to expose John McCain to the rest of America. We all know about him already, but people don't believe something unless they see it on TV, and these challenges to McCain's status quo must be coming out of the mouths of Katie Couric and George Stephanopolous as much as they consistently come out of Keith Olbermann's and Rachel Maddow's.

I can't express enough admiration and respect for the way that Barack Obama has run his campaign, always taking the high road, respectfully letting McCain's daily attacks roll off his back, just pointing out that McCain's choice of words is unfortunate or surprising, but with less than 100 days until the November election, it is now time to rachet up several notches on the "here's the truth" scale and let McCain have it.

I don't want to live through another four years of George Bush. I can't watch two or three new Supreme Court justices turn the Court too far right for generations. This country cannot survive economically, both domestically and internationally, with a McCain at the helm. There are about two dozen issues just off the top of my head that need immediate attention, and only a President Obama will even attempt to tackle these outrageiously vital issues.

Obama's Dreams From My Father in New Light

This weekend my wife and I took another drive down to Southern California, this time for me to attend a convention, but also to see our children and grandchildren. We gave another book on CD a chance, this time Dreams From My Father by none other than Barack Obama. This was truly a treat. It is read by Barack, which is not unusual for books of an autobiographical nature, but the way it is read is what separates this book from others we've tried.

First off, if you haven't read this book, it is a must read, not just for Obama fans and supporters, but for anyone who wishes to be enriched, entertained and enlighted as to the fascinating and amazingly unique life of Barack Obama. Listening to the audio provides a whoe new dimension to enjoying this book. Barack breathes life into words that would ordinarily just sit idly on a pae, and the many layers and richness of the book are enhanced with Barack reading in the accents of the many characters that make up his very full life.

There are numerous vignettes in this book that are kind of bell-ringing moments, particularly if you've paid any attention to the last year of the Obama presidential campaign. An example is a very full explanation of events leading up to Barack's meeting with Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Barack makes clear from a detailed recounting of his first meeting with Wright that Wright explained that he is just occupying the pastor's role in the church, but that the church's mission and role in the community are not dependent on who is occupying the pastor's post.

An important aspect to remember about the book is that it was written in 1995, years before Barack Obama became a candidate for president, even years before he ran for the US Senate. It is an honest and forthright portrayal of his search for his own identity, a man who comes from two distinct and strong families, a quest to find his own place in the worlld, and ultimately a journey back through his father's roots as he endeavores to discover where he came from and how his father saw the world has shaped and will continue to shape how Barack may contribute to our world, what will make him a president of substance and of tremendous insight.

We listened to half of the book on our way down and the other half, of course, on our way back home. Even though we had a spectacular time, filled with wonderful family moments and great memories, it was the anticipation that we had yet to complete this book that was in the back of our minds. There is just something magical about Barack's story, and as we listened to the words of depth and texture that flow throughout the book, we can't help but think of our own lives, where we come from and what has brought us to this day.

Do yourself a huge favor. Revisit Dreams From My Father on CD or enjoy it for the first time. In either case, Barack's way of describing his life, his unbringing, his deep family history and the twists and turns of his experiences and exposure to the world that has brought him to where he is today gives us, the reader/listener, so much appreciation and a real window into why he is the man of destiny, the bright star on all of our horizons who will be our next president. It is a story of a man who has taken an improbable journey through the many generations of two families, one black and one white, and how it has carried him to the unlikely place that he occupies today.

Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father, A Story of Race and Inheritance can be borrowed from your local library, as we were fortunate enough to do, or it can be purchased in your local bookstore so that you can revisit it again and again. It is also a great book to share with loved ones. I can't recommend it highly enough. It truly has changed our lives.

Let's Give McCain What He's Asked For

In recent weeks, it has become increasingly apparent that the McCain campaign has become annoyed at the attention that Barack Obama and his campaign have been receiving from just about every media outlet around this country. Obama’s current tour of Europe and the Middle East has allowed McCain, at least publicly, to cry out with mocking indignance that Barack Obama has become the darling of the media.

In the past weeks, the McCain camp has actually created a website devoted to the supposed bias that the media is showing to favor Barack Obama. They seem to easily dismiss the fact that for months now, their campaign and candidate have been given very soft treatment by the media of this country, a campaign that very rarely is forced to handle a difficult question or deal with anything even approaching a challenging question or query.

I believe it’s time for Barack to come back from his overseas trip and request that the media do just what John McCain and his subordinates have been complaining about. He should ask them to turn their cameras and spotlight right on John McCain, imploring the major networks to make certain that they focus significant attention on what John McCain truly offers this country in the next four years.

What McCain and his cronies neglect to recognize is that tremendous scrutiny comes with more intense media attention. This is the one aspect of running for president that has been missing from the daily activities of the McCain campaign. They instead travel around the country, making unchallenged pronouncements and attacks on Barack Obama with very little backlash or requirement to back up their statements. John McCain even has large news organizations like CBS editing out his gaffes and inserting answers that he has given at other times.

But Barack should go one step further. He should also make it very clear to anyone in the media that will actually devote any additional attention to the McCain campaign to hit John McCain with the same intensity and detail-seeking queries that they seem to have no difficulty going after Obama with. The Obama campaign should lay out plainly and clearly what areas the media should be focusing on, namely the more than five dozen changes in platform and agenda issues that has been a stalwart of the McCain candidacy.

While we’re at it, the media should make certain to see which of the Bush/Cheney edicts that he will either continue with or put an end to, things like the hundreds of presidential signing statements that the president has signed specifically stating that bills passed by Congress and signed into law by him can be ignored should he choose to do so. The list of items that McCain can distance himself on from the Bush/Cheney regime is too numerous to mention, but the media should pick a place to begin and have at it.

I make two predictions. No matter how the media is challenged, they won’t turn their attention away from Barack, for two reasons: Number one, he is significantly more interesting to cover than McCain; and secondly, Obama actually makes news and speaks with substance when he’s speaking. McCain speaks in dull, overly used clichés that are just not interesting to the media, and therefore, not of much interest to the American public.

I also think that Barack needs to come back and hit the issues hard without missing a beat. It’s time to step up to the appropriate words that make it very clear what Barack stands for and how dramatic the difference is between he and McCain. In the process of doing so, he should establish himself as a candidate who will fight hard to make certain that everyone in this country, even people who just listen to sound bites or get the tiniest snippets of news once in a while, has a clear understanding of what he stands for, how his presidency will benefit them, and maybe most importantly, what a continuation of the Bush/Cheney presidency will mean to each and every one of us if McCain does somehow get elected.

Obama Running for President of the US

I may be mistaken, but it seems that John McCain is running for premiere of Iraq. That’s all he’ll talk about. Oh, he’ll touch on the economy, drilling off the coastlines, all of his other throwaway lines, but he keeps coming back to the war in Iraq. He’s the expert. Obama is just an unenlightened, naïve neophyte that is in way over his head when it comes to any foreign policy.

But the funny thing is that Barack is right where he should be. He not only recognizes, but makes no bones about the fact that as the Democratic hopeful for president, he must consider every ramification and all possibilities when it comes to not only his position as commander-in-chief, but as the president of the American people, keeping them safe, prosperous, energy efficient and ready to tackle the opportunities and pitfalls that we can all look forward to in the next four to eight years.

McCain is like a broken record, only his message was tired well before he has hit his stride. His latest attack on Obama is absurd, but it is also hurtful and destructive. He actually has the unmitigated gall to accuse Barack of being willing to lose the war if it benefits his presidential bid. Number one, although McCain and his cronies have spoken of winning this war in Iraq for a number of years, they have yet to define what a win would look like.

Furthermore, he speaks of the surge like the war and occupation of Iraq began with the surge. The surge is a magical and mystical action somehow concocted by McCain and only McCain. The sad thing is that John McCain gets every detail wrong about the surge as he describes it to anyone who will listen. He takes credit for knowing about it before anyone else does, attributes the wrong participants in describing its course of action and results, and gets the dates of the surge completely wrong as he criticizes Barack for refusing to even acknowledge that the surge worked.

Well, I for one don’t care if the surge worked. Yes, there are elements of Baghdad and other areas of Iraq where violence is down, but it would be truly naïve to ignore the multiple elements that have caused it to occur, including payoffs of the worst of the provocateurs that has caused them to temporarily cease fire. McCain certainly won’t talk about that, but will we just pay them in perpetuity? I guess McCain would.

Finally, I think it’s time for us to ask McCain if he’ll acknowledge that he was wrong for starting this war if he keeps insisting that Obama acknowledge that the surge worked. I won’t sit by the phone and wait for his call. Frankly, Obama has already spoken publicly about what has and has not worked about the surge, but this will never be enough for McCain, and let’s face it. This is all that McCain has got in his arsenal, so he’ll keep loading and reloading until he runs out of ammunition…in November.

Barack Obama is not only a superb candidate; he is already demonstrating what kind of excellent president he’ll be. He is running for the president of the United States, and even though Iraq, Afghanistan and the entire region, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is a slice of the pie that will be his domain once January rolls around, he is wisely and expertly recognizing that the economy of our country is in desperate need of a complete overhaul, and that must be job number one. McCain, on the other hand, has placed all of his eggs in the Iraq war basket, and frankly, those eggs are really starting to rot bigtime.

McCain an Embarrassment on Morning TV

Did you catch John McCain on morning TV this morning? My wife and I caught him on the Today Show, and he certainly has a different style than most guests. He tries desperately not to be interrupted, because it is obvious that his canned speech has been rehearsed over and over, and if he allows himself to be interrupted, he looks like he must start over at the beginning.

His attacks on Barack Obama, though, don’t seem to upset me as much as, say, a Sean Hannity or a Newt Gingrich, and I believe that is because he lacks a great amount of credibility when he speaks. He appears to be fighting for his life – in politics, at least – and he repeats his prepared text without a lot of conviction and emotionality, which are elements that must be present to be taken seriously by the audience, in this case Meredith Vieira and the American people.

Ms. Vieira tried several times to interrupt McCain’s long-winded narratives, ultimately being forced to wait once until he had completely exhausted what he wanted to say, and then another time just choosing to speak over him because he obviously wasn’t fielding questions and apparently refused to stop to listen to any. In other words, he was going to get out what he came to say, and would not stop talking until he got out his entire speech.

I am really waiting for someone on a major forum – and there is no bigger audience than the Today Show – to truly challenge McCain on his major charges and attacks on Barack Obama. Words and accusations fly by fast, but my wife and I thought two if not more of McCain’s criticisms of Barack were completely false, and several more were most likely either misrepresentations or unfair characterizations of Obama’s actual words and actions in the past couple of months.

I am also waiting impatiently for someone to ask McCain what happened to his commitment to run an attack-free campaign. I am awaiting this morning’s interview on YouTube, but I feel like McCain mentioned Obama’s name over a dozen times in a critical, attack-oriented and negative framework that left no doubt that his main mission is to make certain that the listener comes away with the feeling that Obama is a naïve, inexperienced and inadequate candidate of anything, much less president of the United States.

Once Barack sets foot back on US soil and clearly and in a very detailed way explains what he learned, how he sees the next six months playing out and how his impressions of meeting with leaders and soldiers shape what he’ll do when he takes office in January, I believe it is time for Barack to begin defining John McCain for what he is and how he has conducted his campaign. He must once and for all expose McCain as the emperor with no clothes, someone who seems to get away with very little substance and a whole lot of hubris and bravado that in the end amounts to very little that will help the American people.

I completely trust the Obama campaign to know what to do, and I feel quite certain that they’re thinking well beyond what I have and further down the road than I do, so I will sit back and enjoy watching things as they unfold. I am hopeful that one result of this overseas trip is that Barack gets a sizable and meaningful bump in the polls and that McCain is forced to retreat and back away from his constant criticisms and negative attacks as his words are more thoroughly vetted and his weak candidacy is examined and brought out into the mainstream.

Obama Looks to Create a New World

Today was a lovely day. My wife and I took a drive down the coast south of San Francisco. Our destination was the Swanton Ranch where we spent a part of the early afternoon picking berries. On our way back toward home, we stopped in San Gregorio at the general store that is filled with fabulous knickknacks, odds and ends and terrific memorabilia, books, clothing and yes, postcards. I found a postcard that I bought for my 11-year-old grandson, but it also made me think of Barack.

On the postcard is an old black and white photo and the saying “Those who have been required to memorize the world as it is will never create the world as it might be.” I stood there in the middle of the store and smiled. I think of my grandson, Jesse quite a bit, and today was no different. I always wonder what this world will be like for him as he enters his teens, attends high school, and I am praying that he has the opportunity to enter adulthood without this country being in a needless war and occupation of Iraq or any other country for that matter.

Today Barack Obama is in Afghanistan and Iraq meeting with leaders, both military and governmental, and speaking with troops serving in both countries. He is doing the legwork and building the foundation to become our commander-in-chief. He is also fortifying his foreign policy credentials that will be tested during his years as president, and he is establishing himself as a candidate that will place himself on an equal footing with his opponent, John McCain, when it comes to visibly and publicly visiting the regions of conflict.

Obama needed to take this trip. His lack of travel to the region has been the subject of ridicule by John McCain in recent weeks, and ironically McCain had been goading Obama to go. That same man, McCain, is now criticizing him for making a trip that is only done for political purposes, kind of a publicity stunt. The criticism is not only unfounded, but in the end, it will backfire on McCain, mainly because McCain’s accusations are baseless, but even more importantly, Obama is accomplishing exactly the opposite of what McCain is saying he is, and the vast majority of this country knows it.

Barring any miscues that I don’t anticipate, Barack will have laid the groundwork and started the dialogue that will continue into his first term as president. Contrary to McCain’s specious criticism, Obama will come home confirming what he has already surmised, which is that our country’s main front on fighting terrorism is in Afghanistan, not Iraq, and that although our servicemen and women perform heroically on our behalf, their efforts could be utilized much more effectively in perhaps a different territory and with reoriented objectives.

John McCain is yesterday’s news. Despite a very loud and dramatic commitment to keep things positive and run a campaign without negative attacks on his opponent, he has seemed to make attacking his opponent the cornerstone of his campaign. This weekend was the debut of his first attack ad on TV, and he tends to spend the vast majority of his canned stump speech with a daily dumping on Barack Obama. These unfair and unfounded diatribes, however, have tended to fall on deaf ears, except for the relatively small crowds he draws to his mostly staged and theatrical events around the country.

The ultimate irony is that McCain, who claims that foreign policy and military strategy are his strong suit, has proven once again to be just the opposite. He has repeatedly confused tribal factions in Iraq, incorrectly identified which warring groups are training and where, and he had his own Hillary moment when he severely exaggerated the safety and stability of Baghdad, claiming that he could walk freely and relatively carefree through an open market. His only problem is that pictures from the event showed he was in a bullet-proof flack jacket, dozens of highly armed soldiers were surrounding him on all sides, and many helicopters hovered overhead to protect him from any harm.

When we returned home late this afternoon with our berries, I cleaned them while my wife threw together the crust that the berries would be baked in. For dessert tonight, we had one of the best olallieberry pies I’ve ever had, and to think that we picked the fruit with our own hands. As I reflect on a perfect day with my beautiful wife, I feel pretty good about this country of ours. It is worth protecting and fighting for, and I know that Barack is the person that I want calling the shots in January ’09. I am very happy that he is on the other side of the world right at this moment getting ready to make sure that I can have many more days like today, and hopefully my grandson will, as well.

John McCain: *61

There is one thing that is absolutely certain about John McCain… John McCain is absolutely certain about nothing. And of that, I’m sure. In the spirit of Roger Maris and the movie that depicted his run at the Major League homerun record, *61, I am calling this blog the same thing. This blog is dedicated to the 61 significant and documented flip-flops that John McCain has made on areas of national security, foreign policy, domestic policy and economic policy to name but a few.

This is an excellent place to start if you’d like to see the 61 documents flip-flops.
http://www.alternet.org/election08/90956/

Watch very carefully, because after each McCain press conference, speech or public appearance, his handlers and spinmeisters will magically appear to clarify what he tried to say, reiterate it much more clearly or effectively change the original meaning and direction of McCain’s actual message. If you’ve watched a couple of John McCain’s Q&As with reporters lately, he has looked like a deer in the headlights when questioned on a couple of issues for which he had no reasonable and plausible answer available.

And yet McCain has the audacity to call Barack Obama a flip-flopper! The interesting thing to watch is that the media seems to pick up on McCain’s charges no matter how baseless and meritless they may be. He has learned what Bush and Cheney have learned, that if you say something enough, people will just believe that it must be true. He has also gotten into the gotcha game, essentially picking on whatever the issue du jour is and milking it for all its worth.

I have to admit that we can’t watch John McCain for any length of time without chuckling as he attempts to wade through answers that are either canned, delivered in an overly dramatic fashion or simply in just an incredible manner. His latest diatribe against Obama for now visiting Iraq and Afghanistan as a political stunt after previously criticizing him for not having visited that same region since he announced for president is just ludicrous and disingenuous to say the least.

Let’s be very clear about John McCain. He is a man of great valor and has a lengthy resume of service to this country. But his term of service to this country is not an adequate qualification to be president and his recent history and established standard of changing his position on 61 issues with more to come makes him an unsuitable candidate for president and allows us to discern that he will do and say anything to get elected.

Rachel Maddow Sets High Standard

If you are aware of Rachel Maddow and have listened to her on her radio program or have seen her in her ever-increasing appearances on MSNBC, you know what I’m talking about. If you have not seen or heard Rachel yet, you’re in for a huge treat. In a pool of mediocrity where most talk-show hosts and political pundits are lacking the breadth and depth that Maddow possesses, Rachel Maddow is the cream that rises to the very top of the political talking head barrel.

Ms. Maddow has a rare gift. She can demonstrate a thorough and detailed knowledge of our political scene without coming off pompous and superior. She is affable, adorable and capable of witty banter that is lost on many people with much more experience than she, yet she is also quite talented when it comes to tracking down a complex story and dealing responsibly with a story that has numerous facets to explain properly.

Rachel Maddow has had a very successful radio program on Air America Radio for quite sometime, and as her star has risen and her name and notoriety have become well-known among cable news programmers who have been looking for quite a while for a powerful voice on the left, she has been making more and more appearances on various MSNBC news and talk programs, recently taking a regular seat on the relatively new program, David Gregory’s Race for the White House, and contributing consistently to Countdown with Keith Olbermann. She also just completed an outrageously important and successful run filling in for Mr. Olbermann as he vacationed.

This recent New York Times article very wonderfully speaks about Ms. Maddow’s recent ascent to our daily TV screens and a little about her background and education.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/arts/television/17madd.html?ex=1216958400&en=7d2ff182cb8feb66&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Barack Obama has received mostly positive press and coverage from Ms. Maddow, but Maddow is not shy to point out aspects of the Obama campaign that she takes issue with. She doesn’t attack either candidate, but fairly and methodically points out when a candidate either misspeaks or lacks information that needs either clarity or further review. Senator Obama should make certain to listen to what Rachel Maddow has to say, because her astute insight and plugged-in stance make her a valuable political voice to listen to and learn something from.

It is only a matter of time until Rachel Maddow gets her own show on MSNBC, and she is well deserving of it. There are only so many hours in the day, and she can only prepare and appear on so many shows per day, but Ms. Maddow seems to juggle and multi-task on a regular basis as she seems to effortlessly pivot from radio to television, and as long as she continues to entertain, educate and dig deep for the truth, and then having a great ability to explain it to her expansive audience, she will continue to climb to the top of the most sought out political minds on TV.

If you’d like to hear more from Rachel, log on to MSNBC’s website, www.msnbc.msn.com, to seek out programs that feature her, or you can log on to Air America Radio, www.airamerica.com, to find out when Rachel’s radio program is on in your neck of the woods.

McCain: I'm a Liar, My Friends

For those of us who are obsessed with politics and watching the slow and torturous meltdown of John McCain and his campaign, this was a spectacular week. The one drawback is that a casual observer may not have heard the vast majority of the gaffes or missteps that came out of the McCain camp this week, or any other week for that matter. I don’t think that the term “Teflon John” is an exaggeration when it comes to describing the coverage that the mainstream press shows of John McCain and his supporters and spokespeople.

Rachel Maddow filling in for Keith Olbermann last night said that the mistakes and blunders by the McCain campaign will be in future textbooks to be studied by students who want to see what an ill-prepared candidate who will say anything to get elected looked like. This has truly been an interesting election to watch and learn from, and I do believe that candidates of the future will know from watching and listening carefully what to do and what not to do even more.

This week McCain chief economic advisor told the Washington Times that the recessionary trend in this country is all in our heads and that we are just a bunch of whiners. This statement takes on more significance because John McCain has previously stated that the economy is not his strong suit and that he intends to rely very heavily on one main person, Phil Gramm, his chief economic advisor. It seems unlikely that this story will go away any time soon, and it shouldn’t.

In a Hillary-type moment, John McCain the other day told a Pittsburgh, PA newspaper reporter that when interrogated in Vietnam with torture looming if he didn’t give up his squadron’s names, he mentioned the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive line, the famous Steel Curtain. Unfortunately, his capture predates the Steel Curtain by several years, and in his book and the movie that was made from it, he claimed that he mentioned the defensive line of the Green Bay Packers, which seems more likely because the Packers won the Super Bowl that year, 1967.

The women of his campaign fared no better. Mrs. McCain, in an apparent attempt to demonstrate that she and John are like any other couple, charged three-quarters of a million dollars on God knows what last week. Also, it was announced last week that the McCains neglected to pay to the property taxes on a home they own in San Diego County for four straight years. I suppose that home fell through the cracks because of the dozen or so other homes they also own. Finally, Carly Fiorina, McCain spokesperson, mischaracterized the McCain position on Roe v Wade, mistakenly representing that McCain has no identified position against it and that women deserve to have their insurance plans pay for their birth control, also incorrectly characterizing McCain’s position.

John McCain essentially came out against Social Security benefits, and also completely ignored the prime minister of Iraq calling for timetables for American troop withdrawal, something that McCain has criticized Obama for calling for, and he also has previously stated that if Iraq wants us to leave, we’ll leave. Well, that time is now being talked about by the Iraqi government, and McCain is suddenly hard of hearing. He also this week claimed to have no knowledge that the US was selling anything to Iran, and when he discovered that the US tobacco companies were selling cigarettes to Iran, joked that maybe the good news is that the Iranians will get cancer from smoking.

This week we also discovered that the McCain campaign apparently forces the reporter pool following the McCain campaign around on its bus and plane to earn their way on, which is just unacceptable, and then went out and promised that he will balance the budget in his first term in office. Not one economist, no matter how partisan, believes that any candidate can balance the US budget in the next four years. McCain also criticized Barack Obama for voting against the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment and boasting that he is much more in touch with what the American people want, except for one minor detail…McCain voted against the amendment, too.

In maybe the most galling display of arrogance and audacity, John McCain took credit for the passage of the new GI Bill, claiming at a town hall meeting that he has received the highest rating from every veteran’s group and organization, and when a veteran in the audience challenged that statement, McCain essentially told him that he was mistaken and sarcastically thanked him for his version of McCain’s record. It turns out that McCain’s version is the inaccurate one. Instead of being in favor of the new GI Bill, John McCain was vehemently against it and didn’t even show up in the US Senate to vote on this or any other legislation in several months.

If this is just one week of the McCain campaign for president, I can only imagine what fun we’ll have in the weeks to come. Last week he was forced to run away from comments made by his top aide, Charlie Black, who told a magazine that a terrorist attack on US soil would be good for McCain’s presidential bid, and McCain told an audience last week that his proposal for a gas tax holiday would not provide real relief at the pump, but would instead provide a good emotional lift to the country. He also has been pushing the idea that the US should allow drilling off of our coastlines and completely ignores the fact that all experts agree that no oil will come from that endeavor for at least seven to ten years.

One of these days, a few of these significant missteps and blunders will become common knowledge to the average American, but it is my belief that the mainstream media is doing its best to keep most of these gaffes under wraps because it is their desire to keep this race as close as possible. This is why we’ll hear story after story about Barack no matter how meritless and non-newsworthy the story is, but highly sensitive and negative information that average voters have a right to know is currently being suppressed.

Well, that is about to change. And if my little blog here becomes common knowledge, well I’m happy to do my part.

Being Reminded of an Important Lesson

Before I start in on this blog, I would like to wish all of you a very Happy Independence Day. It’s interesting, because numerous people wished me a “Happy 4th!” and I wondered if we had forgotten the meaning of this holiday that commemorates our independence from the British, represents our freedom, our open society, 1776 and the Declaration of Independence and our Bill of Rights. As I sat in front of my daughter’s home in Southern California watching the little fireworks display and seeing neighbors left and right lighting and burning combustible materials that make pretty colors and parents feigning excitement for their children, including my delight in watching my own grandchildren’s response to the sights and sounds, I couldn’t help but think that we’d lost what this holiday is all about.

My neighbor had brought over a couple of books on tape for us to listen to on our long drive back and forth, and with at least a 14-hour round-trip, we had time to write our own book if we chose to. One of the books was My Life by Bill Clinton, and although that is not a book that either of us had chosen to pick up, with the CDs sitting in the box on our backseat, we decided to see how much we could take. It is truly ironic that last year, I had such a different opinion of President Clinton. He was charismatic, visionary and really one of my heroes. This past primary season has unfortunately tarnished and sullied my once unhindered admiration of the man. Nevertheless, we gave the book a try.

It is quite slow in the beginning, and covers Mr. Clinton’s early years, his upbringing and the hard times that he and his family experienced in the American South. I did find myself recognizing that not many people with such a difficult beginning could or would ascend to the highest office in the land. Bill Clinton seemed destined to rise above all of his adversities and take something positive out of each lesson. What I am writing about in this blog is easily the largest lesson that he learned from eight years in the White House and what Barack Obama can learn from it, as well.

Something that thrust itself upon the Clintons that had never happened in their previous years in the public eye is the Republican Party, particularly people like Newt Gingrich, Bob Dole, Tom Delay and Henry Hyde, and the lengths that they will go to destroy what they are either threatened by or simply don’t agree with. The Clinton book has a recurring theme of Bill and sometimes Hillary working so diligently and earnestly on massive projects like healthcare, NAFTA, restructuring student loan programs, moving people off of welfare and into jobs programs, etc. and then hitting the buzz saw that is and was the Congress of the United States.

These men and women of the opposing party were well financed, not well meaning and out for blood. There were also men of extreme wealth and power, people like Richard Mellon Scaife and several prominent organizations, who spend massive amounts of money making certain that presidents like Bill Clinton hit roadblocks that are created and designed to alter public opinion, prop up and empower men who exist solely to hurt and destroy, and exploit the weakest points in a person like Clinton and like a termite, gnaw and chew until there’s nothing left, or if you survive, you’re not the same person you were when things looked rosy and promising.

As I sat a listened to the long and drawn out story of Bill Clinton’s life leading to a triumphant but tumultuous eight years in the White House, I kept thinking about Barack Obama. I thought of a relatively young man from a completely different background and upbringing than Bill Clinton, but without much of the baggage that Mr. Clinton was saddled with. I thought of a man who possesses many if not all of Bill Clinton’s charismatic qualities, his eloquence, his clear and progressive thinking, his innate ability to woo a crowd and leave them impassioned and feeling like anything is possible, and yet a man who, unlike Clinton, carries seemingly no negative history with him into the presidency. He is a decent, honest, forthright man who has chosen a very traditional and unassailable life as a husband, a family man and a life of service.

I honestly don’t mean to deride Bill Clinton, because his explanations of his many controversies leading into and during his presidency are thorough, detailed and quite plausible, but the quantity of them and the repetitiveness of certain accusations left Clinton seeming to be on the defensive for most of his eight years in office. Obama, on the other hand, has plenty of grist for the mill for his political enemies to choose from, but it also seems relatively meritless, petty and frankly without any substance. More importantly, let he who is without any difficulties or controversies in his life cast the first stone.

I would like to emphasize that the unfair and baseless attacks we have seen in the past few months is nothing compared to what is to come. Barack is doing well so far, but he must learn from the lessons of Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton that come through loud and clear in this book. Don’t give and inch. Not one inch. The people who are threatened by a Barack Obama becoming the president of this country will stop at nothing. They are vicious, ruthless, rabid and full of hate. As we have already seen, they will take one morsal of truth and twist it, distort it and add any other information required to make their point, and their point will be made.

Just this morning I was looking at some innocuous pictures that were sent to me that depict Barack in various poses with family members, in Africa and speaking at various events. The captions added to the photos make it look like he is running for president of Ghana. They are from the imagination of people who don’t like change, don’t accept people who look and speak differently from them, and if they don’t have anything of substance to spread to anyone who will look and listen, they will make things up.

Obama knows this, and his rapid response to many of these attacks is the proper action to take. Even in my relatively small exposure to people on a local level, I have gently corrected and educated people who were certain that Barack was a Muslim, that he refuses to say the pledge of allegiance, that he’s not really a citizen, that he is associated with Louis Farrakhan, that he has no legislative experience, that his wife is an uppity so and so. You name it, I’ve heard it. I realize that many if not all of these people would not have been votes for Obama no matter what they believe, but I feel that it is all of our responsibilities to stand with Barack and make certain that his message gets out there and that we do our part to make sure that misinformation is corrected and clarified.

The nasty lessons learned by the Clintons should not be ignored by anyone from Barack on down. They are a constant reminder that roughly 25% of this country is not ready for a president like Barack. These people have representatives in this country in high places, many of them in the media, as well, and they will spend 24 hours a day trying to destroy you. There was a sadness that I heard throughout the book that we listened to up and down the state as we were driving, and that is that good people are continuously and viciously attacked by bad. I suppose that that is a fact of life, but it must not be forgotten and our guard must never be down.

The good news is that there are three-quarters of this country who are ready for change, ready to accept a president who may not look exactly like them, who excites them to their core and makes them feel that anything is possible if everyone works together and if we all fight for what is right and will help people in this country. I feel so positive that despite the difficulties that lie ahead, Barack can overcome them, challenge the conventional wisdom that says that the minority in this country can take you down, and I am confident that Barack Obama is just the man to bust through and win the hearts and minds of the vast majority of this country.